What gets interesting is when you make the best, most solid punch in the world, and the guys eyes get big and he pretty much ignore it and you just pissed him off even more! I have had this happen a number of times with my soldiers. also hurts like hell on your now broken hand.

I tend to prefer hitting people with other objects if I can. From there, palms elbows etc. Hits for me really serve to disrupt the tempo so I can either escape or move to a more dominate, tactical position. For me, the atemi, or intent of atemi is no different in a real fight than it is in aikido the dynamic is exactly the same. It is when you get into grappling range that things get interesting and you cannot escape back out.

Ah, but that's precisely my point, Kevin. Maybe I didn't articulate it very well but... landing a solid strike to me means a strike sufficient to effect the other: anything from a momentary disruption of their attack rhythm to incapacity.

So, if you can't do that, you end up, as you said, in a clinch or on the ground - unpleasant business, that. Not very gentlemanly at all, rolling around in the dirt - much prefer sharp pointy things in that context.

They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone ...